CSI: Vegas Finale: Will Sara and Gil Return for Any Possible Season 2? And Was That [Spoiler] in Final Teaser?
The following contains spoilers from the CSI: Vegas season finale.
This Wednesday in the CSI: Vegas season finale, Max’s team diligently worked with Sara and Gil to get the goods on Anson Wix and also find/save Hodges. After running into dead end after dead end, it was a smudge of counterfeit casino fragrance that led the CSIs to a beaten but breathing Hodges, whose testimony will put wily Wix behind bars on a variety of charges.
While Max celebrated the big win by reclaiming her office at the lab, Sara and Gil opted for the thrill of a ride on his favorite roller coaster (which they somehow made feel cozy and romantic).
Ah, but Sin City never sleeps, and in a final, season-ending teaser, we saw a very strange, all-white room covered with scribblings. The camera panned down to a pair of black-gloved hands scrawling a word that… well, it sure looked familiar to this writer. But maybe we see what we want to?
TVLine spoke to showrunner Jason Tracey, who penned Wednesday’s finale, about the “sequel” season gone by, that unsettling teaser and — perhaps most important of all — whether Jorja Fox and William Petersen will return as Sara and Gil, in the event that CBS renews the procedural.
TVLINE | You had a bit of a balancing act with this series — bringing the vets back with a story that longtime CSI viewers would enjoy, while also introducing the new half of the cast. All told, how do you think it went?
It was a lot of fun. If that’s how I’m judging success or failure, I enjoyed myself, and I think the writing staff did, too. And I know that the cast did. We felt pretty good about how it all came together in the end, but everybody who sees the finale, they’ll be the real judge.
TVLINE | Did you get any specific feedback from Jorja [Fox] and Billy [Petersen], about how it felt to be back, if it was like slipping on an old shoe…?
They were fantastic from jump, and we worked so closely together for a long time to kind of get this whole thing ready, because of the COVID. We were itching to sort of hit the floor by the time we were ready to go, and I think they feel good [about how it went]. You’ll have to ask them, but I think we all felt pretty good.
TVLINE | Specifically in the finale, how important was it for you to have both teams play a role in the final takedown? It was a bit of Sara/Gil, a bit of the new people….
That’s sort of the spirit of this whole franchise, that these folks are united in common purpose, so you want to see them click together and be professionals and work together as a team. That way, everybody did have a part to play.
The marriage of old and new was gratifying because by the time we rolled around into the finale, the new folks had earned their stripes even though it was a playoff to a story that really originated out of the original characters. Hopefully, we had set the table where everybody deserved a full serving.
TVLINE | I liked that moment where Max kicked Wyatt out of her office.
That was one of my favorite scenes to write of the season, for sure!
TVLINE | Regarding the final teaser at the end: Was going with Sqweegel (an elusive serial killer from the original CSI) a slam-dunk, or was there a runner-up for what you might do for Season 2?
Actually… that may not be Sqweegel. That may just be black gloves. I’ll just leave it at that.
TVLINE | Really? But it looks like they’re writing “…W-E-E-G…”
No, if you look at what he’s writing, it’s actually his own made-up language that’s based on the Voynich [manuscript], those crazy, medieval texts. For your readers and for yourself, I’ll just say “there is a world of possibilities,” but you might be looking at a brand-new madman there. Everything is open interpretation until it’s not, and we’re a long way from being able to tell those stories in Season 2. I’m going to open it up for a new room of writers, and we’ll figure out where we go from there.
TVLINE | What are you hearing on Season 2? Is there any permutation of the viewership numbers that gets you renewed?
Yeah, fortunately the network has been really supportive, really happy with the creative, and kind of delighted about the Live+7 [playback numbers], the hooks that this thing has into the audience. It’s been a buoyant number in the back half of the season, and… fingers crossed. They’ll let us know. It’s on my Christmas wish list to have some more clarity on that, but I won’t speak for [CBS]. I’ll just wait patiently for a hoped-for pickup.
TVLINE | Are Jorja and Billy definitely on board if there’s a renewal?
There’s no expectation on them. The door will always be open to a couple of legends, but we only asked them to come back to help us tell this finite number of episodes. It’ll be up to them and the studio/network to kind of figure it out.
TVLINE | So… is there a scenario where CBS says, “We want you back, but only if you can guarantee a certain presence for Sara and Gil”?
I don’t know. I’m not privy to all the conversations that happen at the studio and network. I know they’ve been really gratified by this story and by the work that those actors did. I was, too. CSI is a mystery show, and right now the future is a bit of a mystery for us. But much like how most of our episodes end with a happy ending, I think that we’ll probably get there in the end.
TVLINE | Were there any other series vets that you hoped to have swing by, if only for a scene? Or did you have on everybody you wanted?
We got everybody that we wanted for the telling of this particular story — but I will say that my appetite is large, and the world of possibilities from the run of the franchise across four different iterations in the past…. I’d be like a kid in a candy store if I got a Season 2, to kind of “go shopping” and hopefully tap in some familiar faces.
TVLINE | What would you like to get into with the new characters, if you are renewed for another season?
So much. This was a great introduction and kind of an amuse bouche for a whole new chapter and some interesting characters. For one, I want to broaden out the world of the morgue; when you go down there, there might be different places that we can add and populate. Also, I think that Folsom and Allie (played by Matt Lauria and Mandeep Dhillon) did tremendous work for us, and I want to make sure that we get to continue to tell their story and also kind of get some new folks to bounce off of out in the field.
And then with Max, Paula [Newsome] is just a delight to work with. Max had to command this ship that was in very turbulent waters, so it’ll be fun to have a bit more of a ramp with her where the whole lab doesn’t feel under attack. There are facets of her character that we haven’t even gotten to explore because she was so reactive this season. It’s exciting to think of where we can go with each of the characters.
TVLINE | And what was Allie holding at the end? Her melted apartment key?
Exactly. When we first meet [here and Folsom], she was given a key by Mark and asked to move in with her primarily off-screen boyfriend. The question was: Would Folsom have anything to say about her relationship? I think he took it upon himself to finally make a statement.
Want more scoop on CSI: Vegas, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
I thought this was a good solid 10 episode season… Good to have Gil and Sara back… Not sure what the expectations of CBS were for the show since it had no lead in and was up against the Chicago shows that the same audience would like…
Loved it! Sara and Grissom were fun to watch during the whole season, and the ending was awesome! I would love to see them back, but I’d be okay with this ending for them. I would still probably tune in to a second season, regardless. The new characters were growing on me, and they could add some new lab rats.
I’m hoping for a Season 2! I loved them all the first go round! Yeah, I’m old!👵🤣
Looking forward to Season 2. The end wrapped sort of quickly but I was satisfied with the story line.
Outstanding with gil and Sara and the new players. Next season they should try bringing back some more of the old players their miss.
Absolutely love Max!
Just glad to see the show back on with the old crew
Loved it! (But don’t scare the baby!!!)
Enjoyed it immensely. Loved the new players. Great casting.
We need another season or three of Grissidle! What was being scrawled in that flash forward at the end?
Glad the producers said the word was from some odd language. I paused the scene a couple of times, trying to decipher it.
Great to have it back. The whole idea of CSI is fascinating and educational. I loved the original cast but really like the new cast too. Max is a firecracker and Grissom wit is uplifting. i always loved his one liners. Writers are AMAZING. Thank you for bringing it back and i look forward to new story lines in season 2.
Lady Heather for Season 2? Great episode, but I did get the feeling it wrapped up a tad too quickly. Casino fragrance? That was a new one. The new characters are growing up me too, but Billy Petersen rocks!
Never fail to learn something from Grissom and Sidle. I do hope they return, and maybe Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan and George Eads too. This show is class as opposed to the Chicagos that someone mentioned. Firemen, doctors and cops – boring. I hope the original cast comes back but won’t hold my breath. They are too good for TV.
Well, seeing how Warrick was killed off (as a result of Gary Dourdan’s erratic behavior offscreen) and George Eads had some backstage issues, I don’t see those two returning any time soon.
I hope it gets a second season with Grisson, Sidle, and Hodges returning, plus the new cast, and maybe they could add Sanders, Phillips, and even Willows (who they mentioned this season but never showed)
Gary Dourdan‘S character Warrick Brown was murdered by a fellow cop, so Brown’s not coming back.
Gil and Sara made the season for me. The new people did their jobs competently, but none of them had my involvement like Gil and Sara did. They really are exemplars of the show.
I thought the season was pretty bad all around- the writing was quite weak. But I was so happy to see Grissom and Sara again and they are just the best so I can’t even complain, especially after that last scene on the roller coaster!
But they really carried the snow and without them I just don’t see any potential in it. The writing was just quite poor and the new cast of characters, aside from Max, were boring.
I agree with you some what. I was glad when they said CSI was coming back, I thought with the old(some) cast. The only ones I liked was the two young men, medical Examiner, and the young girl who helped Gil. I like the Lady who plays the Boss,but not in this roll. Hope it come back next season but with more old faces.
What I think about the evolution of the episodes, simple the scriptwriters privilege the victim’s suffering for 10 episodes and the villain gets the implicit suffering of spending the rest of his life in jail. There had to be at least half of the episodes the villain went through suffering. And that never changes, and they think they catch our attention! As they say, more of the same!!
Bring the csi vegas back we loved season 1
I didn’t watch csi:vegas the original, but I did this one and really enjoyed all the characters. Nice to see Sara and Gil. They really showed them to their best. And the new characters are interesting, even the obvious future romance.
But if Sara and Gil don’t come back I’d KILL to see David Caruso back as a regular. That show ended way too early for me. i can just hear the singing “Who are you? YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” lol
I’ve watched to original and this version. I enjoyed both. I originally posted I was going to wait until all episodes air before watching, but after seeing the new team handling their business, I continued to tune in. Of course the first, original cast members were the best!!
For me, two thoughts came to mind about the season finale:
1. At the end, it gave the appearance that the old school (Grissom and Sara) was passing to torch to the new school (new kids on the block).
2. The hand scribbling appears to be a female.
Can’t wait to see what new, strange cases they will be solving next.
Hopefully this can be passed on: To the cast, produces, cameraperson, writers, makeup artist (definitely the bomb) and crew – Keep up the excellent work where we have about 40ish minutes to play “who dun it”!!
Grisham and Sarah are the LIFE blood of CSI (Period). I would watch them everytime!!!!
Get rid of the english lady. What is she doing in Vegas. Nonono
Get rid of the english lady. What is she doing in Vegas. I have never written a comment here before
Marg Helgenberger is reprising her role as Catherine Willows on Season 2. This happened before OWN picked up All Rise after CBS cancelled it, as it was announced that Helgenberger was not returning to All Rise because she already signed on to another drama. Turns out she signed on to CSI:Vegas.
When Catherine left the Vegas lab, she became an FBI SSA. So will she be working an FBI case that the CSI’s in Vegas are also investigating? We know from Criminal Minds that the SSA’s work with local law enforcement. So will Willows be leaving the FBI and returning to the crime lab, or is she still with the FBI and is working with the crime lab?